How Drones are Changing the Game with Roof Inspections

When people think of the ways drone technology is utilized in the roofing industry they typically think of them as little more than a photographic instrument, but drones can also help companies improve their bottom line.

That’s according to Product and Marketing Leader Kevin Wunder, with Loveland Innovations, who hosted a course during the International Roofing Expo titled “The Four Ways Drone Technology Improves Your Bottom Line.”

Wunder said one way drones have changed the game is with roof inspections.

Wunder said drones can make roof inspections much safer and a more trusted experience, by doing the work an inspector would do with less risk, and by affording a homeowner access to see the same thing the inspector is seeing.

“Some software’s they help with identification of damage,” he said.

Wunder said artificial intelligence can also help validate or invalidate what an inspector is seeing.

“That creates this very transparent and open relationship,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of customers who have really a good experience, and how that changes their overall customer experience.”

Wunder said several organizations have re-engineered their sales process around drone technology. He said drone technology can equip professionals and companies to grow and used an example of companies that have utilized drone technology to help triage roof damage after storms.

He said drone operators can conduct 20 to 30 field inspections per day, and that imagery is sent back to identify which areas have the most damage and which jobs require the highest level of urgency.

Wunder’s company, Loveland Innovations, offers IMGING® drone inspections that the company’s website said “helps you gather and analyze property information by turning a drone and your mobile device into an advanced inspection toolkit.”

The software automates drone based image capture, organizes ground and drone photos, provides measurements and analysis.

Similar software is available with competing companies like Eagleview, which offers drone technology for roof inspections, and DroneDeploy, which offers roof inspection software.